440 ORCHIDS 



Pterostylis. 



mostl)' nati\-es of Australia and New Zealand. Flowers 

 Lisnall}^ green, often tinged and streaked with red, large 

 and solitarv, or smaller and racemose, on short pedicels ; 

 dorsal sepal broad, erect, incurved ; petals curved under 

 the dorsal sepal, and forming with it an arched, almost 

 hood-shaped upper lip, or helmet ; lateral sepals more or 

 less united in a two-lobed narrow lip, often terminating 

 in long points ; lip on a short claw at the end of the 

 basal projection of the column. P. ciirta {Lindl.), a 

 species sometimes found in botanic collections, succeeds 

 in a compost of leaf-soil and rough peat. 



RENANTHERA. 



Of this genus of tropical epiphytes belonging to the 

 tribe J'aiidecr, only five or six species are known. The 

 name given by Loureiro is derived from jrn, a kidney, and 

 anthera, an anther ; alluding to the reniform shape of the 

 anthers or pollen-masses. Many of the plants described 

 as Renantheras are Arachnanthes. The species have 

 slender, sometimes branching stems, occasionally 12ft. to 

 14ft. high, bearing a row of leaves on either side. The 

 flower-stems originate at the nodes, and bear the blossoms 

 in panicles or drooping spikes. The segments of the 

 flower are spreading ; the lip is small, and attached to the 

 base of the column, on the under side is a short, conical 

 spur. The species are natives of India, China, and the 

 Malay Archipelago. 



Cu/t/nr. — From March to October — which is the growing 

 season of the species described — the plants require the hot, 

 moist atmosphere of the stove. They are very free- 

 rooting, and A', coccinca should be fastened on a block 

 of fern-stem or wood, to which it will soon become firmly 

 attached hy its roots. Birch-wood has been recommended 

 for the purpose, but \\'e prefer the stem of a Tree-fern, 

 such as Dicksonia antarctica, the soft, spongy roots 

 holding the moisture and agreeing with the roots of the 

 Renanthera. Grown in this manner, the plants require to 

 be moistened once or twice a da)- in summer, under which 

 treatment the stems will lengthen ift. or more in a season. 

 Only during the hottest sunshine should they be shaded, 

 a free exposure to the light being most important if 



